December 14, 2015

Climage Change and Terrorism

I'm sure you've seen, floating around the right side of the internet, the smug derision pointed at Senator Sanders (and others) for linking Climate Change and Terrorism, right?

So the next time when your crazie right wing cousin or otherwise friendly conservative/libertarian friend, tries to ridicule the idea of a connection between the rising temperatures and terrorism, just point them here.

The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises.

The responsibility of the Department of Defense is the security of our country. That requires thinking ahead and planning for a
wide range of contingencies.

Among the future trends that will impact our national security is climate change. Rising global temperatures, changing
precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability,
hunger, poverty, and conflict. They will likely lead to food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and
resources, and destruction by natural disasters in regions across the globe.

In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier” because it has the potential to exacerbate many of
the challenges we are dealing with today – from infectious disease to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of these
impacts.

Climate change is a "threat multiplier" so sayeth the Pentagon.

But wait, there's more:

Maintaining stability within
and
among
other
nations
is
an
important
means
of
avoiding
full
-­scale
military
conflicts.
The
impacts
of
climate
change
may
cause
instability
in
other
countries
by
impairing
access
to
food
and
water,
damaging
infrastructure,
spreading
disease,
uprooting
and
displacing
large
number
s
of
people,
compelling
mass
migration,
interrupting
commercial
activity,
or
restricting
electricity
availability.
These
developments could
undermine
already fragile
governments
that
are
unable
to
respond
effectively
or
challenge
currently stable
governments,
as
well
as
increasing
competition
and
tension
between
countries
vying
for
limited
resources.
These
gaps
in
governance
can
create
an
avenue
for
extremist
ideologies
and
conditions
that
foster terrorism. [Emphasis added.]